Published November 19, 2023 • Updated April 4, 2026 — Lesson written by French teacher David Issokson for students who want to learn French online, with native audio by Marie Assel Cambier, a voice artist from France.
En revanche and par contre both mean “on the other hand” in French — but they’re not used in exactly the same way. En revanche introduces a positive contrast (an advantage), while par contre introduces a negative one (a drawback). This quick guide shows you how to use both correctly with clear examples.
📘 En revanche meaning, pronunciation, examples
En revanche (IPA /ɑ̃ ʁə.vɑ̃ʃ/) means “on the other hand” and introduces a positive contrast — an advantage or benefit. It can also translate to “however” or “yet” depending on context.
Je n’aime pas le sport. En revanche, j’adore marcher.
I don’t like exercising. On the other hand, I love walking.
La route est longue. En revanche, elle est belle.
The road is long. On the other hand, it is beautiful.
Marie n’est pas douée en langues mais en revanche elle est très forte en maths.
Marie isn’t very good at languages. On the other hand, she’s good at math.
C’est loin mais en revanche ça vaut la peine d’y aller.
It’s far but it’s worth going.
📘 Par contre meaning, pronunciation, examples
Par contre (IPA /paʁ kɔ̃tʁ/) means “on the other hand” and introduces a negative contrast — a disadvantage or drawback compared to what was just said. It can also translate to “however” or “but” depending on the context.
Il est sympa. Par contre, il est bavard.
He is nice. On the other hand, he is talkative.
La ville est belle. Par contre, elle est très chère.
The city is beautiful. On the other hand, it is very expensive.
Nicolas est très fort en allemand. Par contre, il n’est pas très doué pour l’anglais.
Nicolas is very good at German. But on the other hand he’s not very good at English.
Gérald est très beau, par contre il n’est pas du tout intelligent.
Gerald is very handsome. However, he’s not intelligent at all.
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🔗 Related words and expressions
French Connector Words — Complete list of words for connecting ideas and phrases in sentences.
- D’une part… d’autre part — on the one hand… on the other hand
- cependant — however, nevertheless
- toutefois — however, nonetheless
- pourtant — yet, however
- alors que — while, whereas
- tandis que — whereas, while
- bien que — although, even though
- malgré — despite, in spite of
- effectivement — indeed
- par — by
- au contraire — on the contrary
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